Tag Archives: beards in bars

It’s no secret that a lot of our fantastic beard encounters here at Beards of Denver have occurred whilst sampling some of the many fine brews crafted in our wonderful city. It was on such an occasion on a recent chilly fall Saturday night that we found ourselves at Black Shirt Brewing, only to have our hearts warmed by meeting Ben and admiring his glorious beard. Ben even managed to surprise us (we’re normally so unflappable) by admitting to being a Beards of Denver fan! You’re earning mega points there, Ben. The incarnation of Ben’s beard was about a year ago when he started a new gig and proclaimed he was no longer going to shave, which obviously has been a huge gain for the entire universe. Ben, who’s lived in Denver about a year, is a true-bearded Coloradan, hailing from one of our favorite cities and northern neighbor, Fort Collins. Ben shared that beard growth is all in the family: his dad hosts an annual chili party where almost all the men in Ben’s family sport beards, and we certainly expect an invite to the next one! Ben’s wonderful wife of a year-and-a-half, Brittany, loves his beard, and we predict a long and happy life together for these two; after all, a bond built on beard-love cannot be broken! Ben says normally strangers seem to fear his beard, with the notable exception of Beards of Denver (of course). Thanks Ben, keep the beard growing strong!

On occasion, the stars align for the ladies of Beards of Denver. When we think we’re simply heading out on the town for an always-innocent night of sippin’ whiskey and dancin’ to the folk-Americana-bluegrass-accordion-laced music we fancy, wouldn’t you know, a fabulous beard enters our orbit. Such was the case on a recent Friday night at Larimer Lounge in Denver, when our already wonderful night of listening to the amazing tunes of Hurray for the Riff Raff (who put out one of our favorite albums this year) and Spirit Family Reunion was topped off by meeting Joe from Denver and admiring his amazing beard. Believe it or not, ladies and gentlebeards, this is Joe’s first foray into serious beard growth. He’s been growing his beard since February, and shared with us that lots of guys “Think they are not beard guys because it grows in patchy” but he was adamant they need to stay the course and get past those uncomfortable stages until they reach full beard glory. We, of course, couldn’t agree more. Joe, who often used to shave his head, altered his hair cut to complement his beard. Such good choices! Joe shampoos his beard every few days, and came about using a beard cream in a rather serendipitous fashion. Walking into the Dive Inn bar on South Broadway one night, he encountered a bar back there who makes a beard cream called Don’s Beard Cream, which accounts for his beard’s soft texture (turns out you can buy this at Indie 6). Yet another example of wonderful Denver Beard-brotherhood.Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this good Midwestern boy has called our fair city of Denver home the past eight years. When not grooming his beard, he plays guitar and generally philosophizes. Believe it or not ladies, Joe’s a free agent, which we’re sure won’t last for long with a beard like his. He plans to put in at least a full year of beard growth, declaring “I feel like I’ve come so far and I need to take it to the limit. Why do anything if you’re not going to go all the way?” Take it all the way, Joe! We can’t wait to see how your beard progresses come February.

The ladies of Beards of Denver always feel fortunate when we are lucky enough to meet a new (to us) bearded Denver gentleman, and we always have a hunch when we visit one of our fair city’s wonderful breweries that Lady Bearded Luck is a bit more likely to smile upon us. Such was the case on a recent fall night in Denver, where we happened upon Kyle and his fiery-gingerbeard as we were walking into Black Shirt Brewing in RiNo neighborhood. Kyle, who is originally from Mississippi, lives in North City Park with his lovely sweetheart Erin and their dog Belle. His glorious beard originates from the fact that he’s not very good at shaving, and he noted “Everybody loves it.” And how could you not love such a beard with that captivating red hue? Kyle’s redbeard is even more fitting when we found out he works at Fire on the Mountain in Highlands, our favorite wings spot in the city (and a mecca to find many impressive beards to admire). In addition to Kyle’s dedication to his beard, he has major allegiance to D-Town, proudly stating, “What other cities compare to Denver?? San Fran is cool, but it’s NOT Denver.” We couldn’t agree more Kyle. You and that fantastic beard of yours best never leave!

The Ladies of Beards of Denver are always ready, willing, and able to meet an impressive bearded man, but it was a first to meet a fabulous bearded man whose name IS Ready, but that’s just what we’ve got for you today. Ready, who we encountered at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver while waiting for the band Shel to perform, proudly declared that he hasn’t shaved in five or six years, hence his burly mane. His beard is generated largely from laziness, and we don’t mind one bit. Ready said he can easily keep his beard long and luxurious because he’s been traveling so much: he lives in upstate New York and was visiting Denver to attend all three Phish shows at the end of August, and then was planning to head to South America. When asked his mom’s opinion of his beard, Ready shared that she doesn’t like it much because she thinks it makes him look “old and scruffy.” Move to Denver, Ready, where the beard love is unabashed and literally ready to embrace you!

Here in Denver, we are fortunate for so many reasons. We have tons of breweries from which to sample so much frothy deliciousness; we are able to get around on bikes almost anywhere in our wonderful city; and every night of the week there are a multitude of great live music choices to see. It is at one of our favorite venues, the Larimer Lounge, where we met Nate and his stop-you-in-your-tracks beard. We were there to see two wonderful bands–Shel out of Fort Collins and Whiskey Shivers out of Austin–and were pleasantly surprised to meet Nate between sets. Nate has been growing his amazing mane on and off since 2004, and has lived in Denver about 13 years. When he’s not playing the role of volunteer roadie for Shel he works at Renegade Publik House in Denver, which features many of the aforementioned delicious brews. Nate said his mom has a love/hate relationship with his beard (clearly we need to get her over to our side of pure appreciation) and–get ready for this ladies–he has no sweetheart!? With a beard like this and that much dapper style, that won’t be the case for long. Thanks Nate! We’ll be by Renegade to see you, and admire that beard of yours, soon!

As fans of Beards of Denver have likely come to know, the Ladies of Beards of Denver are very dedicated to the documentation and appreciation of The Beard. This story may not surprise most of you, then, as The Pursuit of Donald (as we’ll call it) involved chasing him down Broadway (a rather busy Denver thoroughfare) into Sputnik (one of our preferred watering holes) to get the story of his fantastic beard and bring it to you, our much-loved public. Donald and his impressive black beard, were on vacation a few months back in our fair city. From Kansas, Donald told us he had road-tripped to Denver to attend a family reunion and he said his family tolerates his beard because “They know I won’t change.” We would never want you to change that beard, Donald. Not ever. Donald told us his beard originates from laziness and that it also is a mechanism to become instant friends with other dudes with beards, and we can see why. When not attending to his beard, Donald reads a lot of non-fiction and plays a lot of guitar. You can serenade us and read to us by the fire any day Donald, as long as you keep that beard growing! (In case you’re curious, Donald’s bad-ass t-shirt features this band).

It’s not everyday you meet a stand-up beard who also plays the stand-up bass, but the ladies of Beards of Denver were in the right spot at the right time on a recent fine, fall evening to meet Max and admire his ginger-bearded fantasticness. Max, a musician from London, England, currently plays bass and stand-up bass in Tom Odell’s band, and we were lucky enough to hang with Max and his bandmates (curly-haired Max, Matt, and Tom) at Goosetown Tavern after their show at The Bluebird in Denver. Max has been growing his beard for the past three years, and is a firm believer his face looks better bearded. We agree, though his mom isn’t in our same camp, as she wishes he would shave so she can more freely admire his handsome face. Max’s sweetheart, Ann-Marie, is on our side, though, as she is adamantly against Max shaving, and Max loves her the more for it, claiming “She’s the sweetest girl in the world and puts up with me quite a lot.” Such sweet words from such an amazing beard aren’t that surprising, but we imagine Max is a bit easier to put up with while sporting his impressive beard. Luckily, the life of a touring musician seems quite appropriate to continue his bearded-mastery. Look for Max, his beard, and his bandmates on Leno soon, and follow him on Twitter @max_goff for beard and other sure-to-be-intriguing updates. Cheers Max! We’ll happily tip some scotch and fireball back with you anytime you’re back in our lovely Denver.

Here at Beards of Denver, we are thankful for ALL the beards we encounter, but we are especially grateful for meeting Charlie during the Underground Music Showcase at the end of July. Charlie and his bad-ass beard were preparing to perform at UMS with the band Thanks to Philo, a blues-rock-reggae crew Charlie’s been the drummer in for three years. Charlie, who lives in Parker, says people love his beard and he gets a lot of attention for it (why are we not surprised he has other beard-groupies?) The only reason he has shaved in recent memory is for a charity event for the Children’s Miracle Network; obviously, his is one philanthropic mane, folks. The lesson here is ONLY shave if it’s ABSOLUTELY necessary for the children. Charlie’s family has polarizing opinions on his beard: his mom and his sweetheart love it while his dad isn’t a fan (likely because he only has a ‘stache himself). We’re with Charlie’s ladies on this one; a man with this stylin’ of a beard is apt to keep smart women around! Keep up the good growth, Charlie!

It’s not every night that you’re having a PBR at your neighborhood bar (in this case, The Atomic Cowboy on East Colfax) and spot an amazing red beard rockin’ an AK-47 t-shirt, but when you do, you know the stars have aligned. Such was the case when we met Owen recently. From Santa Fe, Owen was visiting friends in Denver with his girlfriend GiGi. GiGi loves Owen’s beard, and we can certainly see why. When he’s not taming that masterful beard Owen works in carpentry and framing, and of course, picking food out of his beard also keeps him occupied. Owen’s had this iteration of his glorious red beard since December and plans to keep it for at least a full year. But, really, why stop there Owen? We’d vote for FOREVER.

We met up with J. about a month ago at one of our favorite beard hunting grounds in the city: Goosetown Tavern. Not only does J. rock an amazingly impressive beard (and awesome “Keep Denver Beard” t-shirt), he is also a complete and delightful southern Mississippi gentleman to boot. And J. isn’t an alias; he was named after his dad’s best friend J.P. and has gone by J. his entire life. He originally moved to Denver a few years ago from Mississippi to attend culinary school, and now works at the multiple (and delicious) Moe’s BBQ locations, where they are very welcoming of beard culture (and Makers Mark shots, which we approve of, naturally). This is the first time J. has grown his beard this long, and he said his roommate had one and that was part of the inspiration to grow his out. While his mom isn’t his beard’s biggest fan, he does believe his dad has some Beard Envy (and we can see why!) J.’s an Eagle Scout from back in the day, and if we had any say, he’d definitely earn the badge for Bad-Ass Beard! Keep up the great beard work J.!